A/N: Whew, sorry for the late post, finals hit me, and are still hitting me but I found some time to finish the chapter. Hope you enjoy this one. I'm kinda giving away more information then I really want to but… oh well, I can just make this stuff obvious and have different twists later on…
Chapter 5: Revelation
In the space between reality, where matter and anti-matter coexisted in balance and harmony, where the laws of physics were changed daily to suit the needs of the current resides, a huge being sat cross-legged on nothing as he contemplated a dire situation. It was not looking good. Something had gone wrong, yet again, causing his plans to go awry. He grumbled to himself. This was starting to become a regular occurrence, not only with his plans, but with his sibling's as well. He looked over the situation again and grumbled once more. This was definitely not good.
IS THERE A PROBLEM BROTHER? A clear, feminine voice rang inside his head.
YOU COULD SAY THAT. The brother responded.
OH? She asked.
The male supremacy frowned for a moment before he responded, I TRIED TO INTEGRATE MY CHOSEN INTO THE TRUE REALITY BUT FAILED. EITHER HE RESISTED IT OR SOMETHING HINDERED ME CAUSING THE PROCEDURE TO GO AWRY.
The other's eyes widened in surprise, SO THAT MEANS…
The brother nodded sadly, YES, IT MEANS THAT HE IS NO LONGER…
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On planet Ichiecal…
King Cold was upset, no, upset wasn't the word that described his mental state, enraged, furious, would be better words although a more accurate description would be 'engulfed in an insane rage'. News had just reached him of his sons death, the son he had worked so hard to train and prepare to be his successor to the Cold Empire. The bearer of this news, a small, in comparison to Cold, alien decked out in battle armor, was trembling before the powerful Aeesu-jin. Seeing a nine foot towering monstrosity standing before you with red lightning crackling out from his body with enough force to vaporize you is an unsettling sight to say the least.
As it was the alien messenger was glad he was just out of range of the arcs of lightning. She had no desire to become instant barbeque. Cold and the messenger were not alone. The two of them were inside King Cold's large throne room. There were multiple guards lining either side of the room, but they were more ceremonial then anything. Cold had never expected anyone to be strong enough to even come close to challenging him. The throne room itself was actually just a large cavern that had been carved out from a smaller cavern in the depths of a large mountain. Columns lined either side, natural columns that were created when a stalagmite and a stalactite connected together. Other changes had been done to the room, namely the floor had been covered with white-blue tiles with a long, soft blue carpet extending down the length of the room. The throne looked as if it had been carved from ice but in reality it was merely crystal. King Cold may not mind cold but unlike what his name may suggest there are far better materials to build chairs from.
King Cold glared down at the messenger, the only thing that kept him from annihilating all traces of the pathetic creature was the fact that she had served him well in the past by relaying accurate and precise information, it also helped that she was currently the only one he had who could tell him the details of his son's death. King Cold, with obvious effort, calmed down enough so that he was able to articulate his words clearly and not spew them out in a mangled mess of sounds and spit. "Tell me all about my son's death Jariery; don't leave a single detail out. I want to know exactly who killed him and how the fucker did it. I want every little detail; if you manage to do this adequately enough you may just walk out of here alive." He spat out.
Jariery nodded shakily, she knew the chances of surviving this were slim if she told him everything, but if she didn't tell him everything there was no chance at all. "W-Well my liege. I-It was a saiyan. Y-Your son had decided that the saiyans had lived long enough, thought that they might become a threat if left unattended to long…" She took in a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "He, you son, tried to destroy the planet from the stratosphere but… Somehow this saiyan knew it was coming. He had already positioned himself to block the attack before it was even formed. I believe that there is either a spy among your troops or… the saiyans have developed a new technique that allows them to see the future..."
"You're not here to think! You're here to tell me what happened! Leave the thinking to those who have the mental capacity to do it! Now continue!" King Cold yelled.
The messenger nodded vigorously, "Y-Yes your majesty. W-Well this saiyan, he not only stopped the planet destroying attack but he sent it back out at the prince. I didn't see what happened next as they were to far away but when next I saw them your son was in his final form and this saiyan was staring at him like he was nothing, and then he became as nothing as the saiyan shouted something out. This red aura erupted around the saiyan and he became much more powerful then your son. This… This saiyan tore your son apart, and he enjoyed it. It was the scariest sight I had ever seen in my life. It wasn't the actions that sickened me; it was the look in his eyes as he literally rent your son limb from limb. After he was finished he threw the mangled body, still alive but incapable of doing anything, to the masses. Hundreds of saiyans attacked him and tore what was left apart. All I know is that the lifeless head is hanging from some saiyan's wall as a trophy, there wasn't enough left of the body to fill a cup… After that some girl, I think she was the saiyan princess, I wasn't close enough to hear the conversation but they headed towards the palace afterwards and she taken some sort of tiara out of one of her pockets and…"
"Wait… Princess? Since when was there ever a princess? King Vegeta only had 1 child, a son, and what were these… words the saiyan shouted out to gain this aura." Cold asked. He was intrigued now. If there was some sort of technique that was capable of boosting ones power many times then he would acquire it no matter the cost.
Jariery nodded, "Yes, princess. No saiyan would dare try to imitate royalty by having that kind of ornament, not even for show. But she had it, and she led the saiyan and his group to the palace. Those words, that the saiyan shouted… he… I think it was something like 'kaoi-kan' or something like that 'times something'."
"That's enough." Cold said, a smile gracing his face, "So, the saiyan was trained by the gods themselves. I see, it makes sense. They fear me so much that they themselves are taking direct action to remove me and crumble my empire. That technique, 'Kaio-ken', multiplies one's power, wouldn't it be ironic that I should acquire the very power that the gods bestowed upon a lowly saiyan to destroy me. On top of that the saiyans have a princess now… hmmm… I wonder what she's like. I'll kill their entire race, except her and that other saiyan. I can use the two of them: The former as my breeding slave and the second as a means to acquire a technique that will ensure my complete and utter domination over this universe." King Cold leaned backwards and roared with laughter, "And with this slave, I can just breed another son. I had to use a pathetic weakling for the Frieza and Cooler; I wonder what someone with at least some power will provide me with." Cold looked down at Jariery, "I thank you for your information. Since I'm in such a good mood I'll let you live, if you manage to get out of my sight within three seconds." He said with a grin.
Jariery was up and gone before he had finished talking. Cooler calmly counted and was slightly disappointed when Jariery managed to get out a split second before he said three. "No matter." He said to himself, "There are far more important things to attend to." King Cold left the throne room to prepare himself for the journey to planet Vegeta, never noticing the glow that was coming from behind his throne.
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An hour later at some unknown location…
Two cloaked figures stood face to face in what appeared to be black everything. They couldn't see each other, but that wasn't surprising as they couldn't see anything at all. Every wavelength of radiation was being absorbed, nothing was being reflected effectively making the room eternally dark, but that didn't matter, not to creatures such as themselves.
"So, is it proceeding according to plan?" The first creature asked.
"Yesss. We ssshall sssee the resssultsss sssoon." The second replied.
"Good, good, and what about them?"
The second grinned. The grin wasn't visible but the intent was. "They are ssstill cluelessssss. Asss for the othersss. They will do our work for usss. And he will lead usss to ssshe and all will be well."
"That is good to hear. I have to report this to our superior. Go back to your duties and make sure nothing screws up." There was no sound, no movement, no indication that the first had left, just the absence of intent.
The second creature snarled, "Why mussst I do thessse menial choresss. The massster can do it all himssself in a matter of momentsss without resssorting to thessse… gamesss. Thisss Gohan isss a weakling."
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Three days later on planet Vegeta…
Gohan groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Although the light in the room was subdued it still pierced his eyes as if he was staring at the sun. He covered his eyes with a hand and stifled a second groan. Now that the pain of the light was gone the pain inside his head was back. Life just wasn't fair. On top of the bright light the room was extremely noisy, or rather noise filled. Noises he had never heard filled the air making it difficult for him to sort any one sound from another. He heard the rustling of clothes, loud sighs, and several other noises increase in tempo and pace. Gohan could only assume that someone beside him was waking up from a deep sleep.
A few moments later a familiar voice rang loudly in his ears, "Gohan! You're awake!" Karreth said happily, "We were unsure if you were ever going to wake up after you collapsed. You were ashen and grey, like a…" She stopped as she saw pain written across Gohan's face. "What's wrong?" She asked in concern.
"Many things." Gohan whispered. It was barely audible to Karreth causing her to lean in closer. "My head hurts, the light is piercingly bright and your loud voice hurts my ears for starters." He said miserably.
"But I'm not speaking loudly." She replied, looks of confusion and hurt flittered across her face, "Is this better?" She whispered.
Gohan nodded, "Yes, now you're speaking in a normal tone."
"Gohan…" Karreth whispered, "I'm whispering… and there aren't any lights on in this room. What little light there is comes from the sun…. through closed curtains."
Gohan didn't respond right away he merely frowned and contemplated what exactly was wrong with him. Karreth quietly rose from her seat and walked towards the curtains to close the blinds. When the blinds had been lowered the light in the room dimmed even further leaving just enough light for races with good night sight to see. As Karreth returned to her seat she heard Gohan mumbled a quiet 'thank you.'
"You're welcome Gohan." She whispered back. "You know I'll do anything for you." She purred.
Now that he was able to open his eyes and take in his surroundings without the light hurting him the pain in his head had dimmed somewhat. Gohan groaned mentally as he slowly sat up. Karreth was quick to rise to his aid as she raised some pillows for him and gently held him to steady him. This was what he didn't want; Gohan had no plans of staying in the past and he couldn't bring Karreth with him when he returned to his own timeline, especially considering the way in which he had arrived. "Yes, I know." He whispered back. There were just too many complications in getting involved with Karreth, even if he could force himself to love her.
Just then the door opened spilling in light from the hallway. Gohan quickly closed his eyes and stifled a cry a pain. If the light when he had awoke hurt, the light spilling in from the door was liquid agony. Karreth stood up and whirled around to yell at the people who had opened the door but remembered at the last instant that loud noises would cause her love pain and settled on just glaring.
Thankfully the door wasn't opened for long and soon the room was covered in the soothing darkness that was suitable for Gohan's eyes. When he opened them to look at the new arrivals his mouth dropped open. There were two additional people in the room along with him and Karreth. One he recognized as his grandfather Bardock, but it was the other that truly surprised him. It just didn't make any sense to Gohan.
"Hey Gohan." The figure said quietly. He was already aware of Gohan's heightened senses. "You're looking surprisingly well, all things considered."
Gohan just gapped at the person, barely able to splutter out one word, "K-k-kibit-toshin?"
"In the flesh." He said with a smile. There stood Kibitoshin in all his glory wearing his usual clothing and fusion earrings.
"B-But how…" Gohan gasped out. "You, the supreme kai, shouldn't have fused with you assistant for another 50 years!" He exclaimed and immediately winced at the sound of his own voice.
Kibitoshin shook his head sadly, "Gohan… Do you really think that people as powerful as yourself who force open rifts in time and space by just raising your power level would be forced to flow through the stream of time?" The supreme Kaio whispered, utterly confusing the young saiyan. "No, you didn't flow back through time, time flowed around you. When he pulled you through the rift he left you there. With you out of the way time was able to correct itself and become as it should have been."
Gohan looked at the supreme Kaio; this wasn't making any sense to him. Maybe it was due to his head still feeling foggy and the dull pain that resided within it but he had a feeling that he would have been confused regardless. Gohan looked over at Karreth and saw the same confusion that was showing in his eyes displayed in her own. This made him feel slightly better. No matter how confused he became Karreth must be far worse off.
Bardock laid a hand on Kibitoshin's shoulder and the supreme Kaio bowed slightly before he backed away a few steps. Bardock walked forward and kneeled beside the bed. "Gohan, I will explain it. The supreme Kaio has a habit of explaining things as complicated as possible. It is a fault he has had since he took his position." Bardock said softly.
"Gohan… what's going on?" Karreth finally managed to whisper. Saying she was confused was an understatement and there was more then a little fear mingled in with the confusion, not that she would ever admit it.
"I'm… not quite sure." He replied. "I thought I knew a little bit but now I'm not so sure." Gohan returned his attention to Bardock. Suddenly something hit him causing him to narrow his eyes and frown. "You're not my… ah… Bardock are you?"
Bardock smiled, "Do not worry Gohan. I am Bardock, your grandfather, to a certain extent. Sometimes he is in control, sometimes I am. I take control when something needs to be explained or accomplished that is beyond the capabilities of both mortals and Kaio's."
"Then who…"
"That will be explained in good time. There is no need to confuse you with details you do not need."
"Then what is it that you need to say that no one else can?" Gohan asked.
"I will explain what Kibitoshin could not, using simpler terms of course. When I pulled you from your time I left you adrift in the time stream. You acted exactly as you were supposed to. Your power was sufficient enough to stabilize the Kaio-Sphere, or in your terms 'other world'. You became the anchor that allowed that sphere of reality remain stable while the while the timelines of your universe merged back together to create one, singular unbroken time that corresponded with the others. Now I suppose that is the part which confuses you. I will say this; your reality, the one I pulled you from, should have never existed. You were born to the wrong people in the wrong timeline. How this happened I do not know but you turned out adequate in the end regardless." Bardock said.
Gohan's eyes were wide as he stared at Bardock in surprise. A few things were beginning to fall into place but there were still many unanswered questions. Suddenly he panicked as a thought occurred to him, "What about my mother and father?" He asked quickly, "My little brother Goten? Videl?"
Bardock shook his head sadly, "Your father and mother exist, they will fall in love and marry, but you will not be born to them, and neither will Goten. Goten came about as a result of a super saiyan mating with a human. Since your father will never have the chance of becoming a super saiyan due to you killing Frieza Goten will never be born. They will have children, but they will be normal children with the power befitting the mating of a third class and a human. This means that they will never become more powerful then Raditz was when you fought him.
Gohan looked down at his lap; he could feel tears building up in his eyes. He was never going to see his little brother again. Gohan looked up again, "What about Videl and Trunks and…"
Bardock shook his head, "Trunks came about as a mating of Vegeta with the human known as Bulma, you know that as well as I. With this planet still here he will never go to Earth, and even if he did he would not even consider looking at a human female while there are still saiyan ones for him to choose from." He said softly, "As for Videl." He stopped and looked directly at Karreth, "You already know the answer to that question."
Karreth glared at Bardock, "Hey! I'm not Videl! I'm Karreth, the saiyan princess, your ruler Bardock; it would be well if you remembered that!"
Gohan sighed; a few unnoticed tears trickled down his face, "That's not what he meant Karreth." Gohan said softly, drawing her attention away from Bardock and back to himself. "I suspected it from the moment I saw you, or rather the second time I saw you. The first was to brief but… you aren't Videl… you're her mother."
Karreth glared at him, "What! I am not! I'll hope you know I'm still…"
Gohan shook his head violently, "Didn't you hear what he said earlier… I'm not from this timeline, or this time. I'm not supposed to exist for another 30 years but I do, because Bardock… or rather the person currently residing inside him, brought me to this time." Gohan let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry for keeping this hidden from you but… that personal record that was displayed in the dining hall was a fake, something created to help me integrate better into this society. Although I still do not know how it was created." Gohan said as he looked at Bardock, "Or why you decided to reveal the truth so soon after creating the lie…"
Bardock grimaced, "I will just leave it at this. Something happened three days ago that was not supposed to occur. It is linked to your senses being heightened several fold." Bardock stood and stepped back from the bed. "Another reason is that Karreth, being who she is and because of her position, needs to know. I suggest you keep the façade up around everyone else, but like most things it is entirely up to you. Get some rest, in a few days you should become accustomed to your newly heightened senses and be able to function normally once more." Bardock said as he turned to leave. As his had touched the door knob he turned around and smiled at Gohan, "If not, you will be useless to me and I will just create another." He said before he opened the door and was gone.
Kibitoshin was quick to close the door to spare Gohan as much agony as possible. He turned to him and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry Gohan; it's not as if I had much choice. One must always obey their superiors." he said, "Don't let his last few words get to you. He doesn't have the time or luxury to create anyone else to fill the role you currently do. You're all he has to fix this universe. I hope you are better soon Gohan. When next we meet…" Kibitoshin shook his head, "Forget it. Goodbye Gohan." He said and disappeared.
Karreth turned to Gohan with a questioning look, "Gohan… care to explain what this is all about?" She asked.
Gohan sighed, "I suppose you deserve to know the truth, or at least as much as I've figured out so far. I think I should start with talking about my past…"
Gohan spent the next two hours revealing his history and explaining the situation as best as he could. During that time food had been delivered and had been consumed by both saiyans. Karreth listened attentively as Gohan listed off each adversary he had faced and details of different situations he had been in. He left a bit out, mainly inconsequential things, but there were a few things he did not want Karreth to know about, mainly the dragon balls. When he finished he fell silent and waited patiently for Karreth to respond.
After a few minutes Karreth spoke up, "That… explains a few things but…" She fell silent. "What about this 'Videl'. Why do you saw she's my daughter?"
Gohan looked up at the ceiling as he rubbed a hand through his head. "Because you look so much like her it's frightening. On top of that you have similar voices, personalities and life forces. There are discrepancies, enough to prove that you're separate people, but there are too many similarities for me to just ignore it. The entity in Bardock only confirmed what I had earlier suspected." Gohan sighed and looked down into his lap. "This is why it makes this next part hard. I know you have feelings for me, they were quite obvious from the moment you saw my profile… I turned your daughter down, or rather the woman that was going to be your daughter, and I would feel like I was betraying myself, and her even though she more then likely will never exist, if I mated with you. There is also the problem that since you are so similar to your daughter that you two possess the same qualities that not only draw me to you, put push me away as well." Gohan looked over at her with closed eyes and a sad smile on his face, "Which is why you should try to find someone else to mate with because I won't. I still have yet to find the right woman."
"If that's the way you wish it, then so be it Gohan." She said in a cold tone. Gohan opened his eyes and were greeted by a pair of cold ones. All expression had left Karreth's face leaving it as smooth and cold as stone, "I know when I am not wanted, and there is no way I can force you to mate with me. I hope you never find that perfect woman and die a lonely, unhappy man." She turned and left the room, slamming the door as she went. Gohan pitched forward and clutched his ears in pain.
When the pain subsided enough for the young saiyan to think coherently he leaned back in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Did I make the right decision?" Gohan said softly to himself. He slowly raised his hand to the ceiling, "Why do I feel as if I'm drifting further and further away from everyone, and everything."
BECAUSE YOU ARE. A voice boomed in Gohan's mind. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE YOU. And Gohan slept.
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To be continued…
A/N: Wow… that was rather depressing… not depressing considering my usual standards but far more depressing then I wanted it to be. It'll probably be one of the more depressing aspects of the story.
A/N: Krypto, you're smarter then the average readers aren't you? hehe